In the Designing Effective Feedback Surveys webinar, Managing Director of Tribe Research Kate Tribe discusses the business branding aspect of your surveys. A brand check of your survey is necessary to see what it is saying about your business, and to check that it is consistent with other language and messages you are circulating about who you are and what your business is all about.
Survey Software
Even the online survey software you use says something about your business. SurveyMonkey is so popular that often it’s best to try another tool to stand out from the crowd, and should be used according to your customer profile. If your customers are simply individuals who aren’t overly tech-savvy, SurveyMonkey is a safe bet. With more experienced clients, however, SurveyMonkey becomes a dubious choice. It may say something about the professionalism of your business. Aesthetically, too, your choice of survey software has an impact on branding. The logo placement within the survey is important, and should look clean and crisp rather than cluttered. Too many colours—as appropriate to your branding as they may be—can be distracting.
Language
The wording and style of the survey needs to be consistent with the rest of the business’ branding that you have already been communicating. If the language you ordinarily use is friendly and light-hearted, then that should be employed to some extent in your survey. On a related note, word association questions are a great way to gauge the effect of your brand to see what is congruous with your own internal ideas about your business and what aspects have become disconnected before customer contact.
Get Into Your Customers’ Shoes
Always think in terms of your customer: – Are the questions easy to answer? – Are the questions relevant to their experience? – Will they cope navigating their way through the survey? – Is the language consistent with your existing branding? It says much about you if the time is taken to cater language and questions to your customers, rather than for blatant self-interest. It is also wise to think about your brand with regards to different platforms. A survey that is pleasant to complete on a desktop computer does not necessarily translate well to a mobile device. As mobile is an increasingly popular and powerful platform through which your survey may be accessed, it is worth ensuring its navigational ease for your mobile-savvy customers.
What does your survey say to your customers about you and your business?
This article is based on an extract from the Designing Effective Feedback Surveys webinar, which was presented by Kate Tribe. Click here to access the Designing Effective Feedback Surveys webinar recording from the On-Demand Learning Centre. This article was co-authored by Elizabeth Rowe. Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) at the ANU and a Masters of Media Practice at the University of Sydney. She is currently completing an internship with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.
